[Untitled]
Washington, December 30, 1903.
Dear Mr. Minister: I have received the letter which you have done me the honor to address me under date of yesterday, in which, obeying the instructions of your Government, you ask me to say whether the invasion of the territory of the Republic of Panama by Colombian soldiers will be considered by the United States as a declaration of war.
I beg to remind your excellency that when, on the 8th of December, you addressed a similar question to this Department I replied on the 11th, reciting the following facts:
That the Republic of Panama proclaimed its independence on the 3d of last month; that, in consequence of this movement, the independence of Panama has been recognized by this Government and by many others; that a treaty has been signed between the United States and Panama which has been ratified by the latter State and is now awaiting ratification by the American Senate; that by the provisions of the said treaty the United States agrees to maintain the independence of the Republic of Panama; that although the treaty has not yet become a law by the action of the Senate, there are already inchoate rights and duties created by it which place the [Page 281] responsibility of preserving peace and order on the Isthmus in the hands of the Government of the United States and of Panama, even if such responsibility were not imposed by the historical events of the last fifty years.
I then had the honor to inform you that—
The Government of the United States would regard with the gravest concern any invasion of the territory of Panama by Colombian troops, for the reason that bloodshed and disorder would inevitably result throughout the whole extent of the Isthmus, and for the broader reason that, in the opinion of the President, the time has come, in the interest of universal commerce and civilization, to close the chapter of sanguinary and ruinous civil war in Panama.
In reply to your question received yesterday, I can only reiterate what I had the honor to say on the 11th of this month, and to add that the time which has elapsed since then has only tended to deepen the painful impression which would be created in this county by the armed invasion of Panaman territory by Colombian troops, and the sense of the responsibility which would thereby be imposed on the Government of the United States; but that the formal action we should take upon such a contingency must be determined by the circumstances of the case. I am instructed further to inform you that this Government has only the friendliest intentions toward Colombia, and will not lightly be provoked into assuming a hostile attitude toward that Republic.
I have, etc.,
Gen. Rafael Reyes, etc.